There’s no question this was taken tonight. In the photo, she’s wearing the violet suit from the award ceremony.
There are too many people around, all here to celebrate her big night. Nothing is going unnoticed.
The email from Havenport comes after we’ve finished our meals.
Again, it’s simple.
Havenport University thanks Dr. Althea Ralston for her years of dedicated service to our institution and its legacy. Tonight, as we celebrate her manyachievements, we want to wish her well in her future endeavors.
There’s no mention of the scandal at the ceremony. Or the allegations. No apology. No admission or accusation of wrongdoing.
I look up at Naya, then Hayden. We’re all holding our phones, reading the same university email.
Every face at this table is unreadable. Professor Bell’s jaw clenches, her eyes dart away. Jade taps her fingers on the table nervously.
“Is this what we wanted?” Naya asks, her voice low, hesitant.
I don’t speak first because I’m starting to realize maybe I’m the only one celebrating this turn of events. Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this is exactly?—
“She deserves it,” Hayden says.
It doesn’t really answer Naya’s question, still hanging in the air. But it’s honest. And sometimes, that’s all we get.
“We put the truth out there,” Professor Bell says, “because it deserved to be told. We’ve started something no one can stop now. Not even Althea.” She smooths her hands on the tabletop in front of her, nodding. “War doesn’t ever feel good.”
As her words settle—meant, I suspect, to soothe herself as well as the rest of us—a cold truth sinks in. I blink, looking around at the women at my table. “Someone will replace her. Someone worse, maybe.”
“Maybe,” Bell says, eyes locking with mine. “But that’s a problem for another day. Today, fairness won. Kindness won.Justicewon. We should celebrate that.”
“I’m almost afraid to celebrate,” Jade admits. “She got me the job at Havenport, and even if I got it unfairly”—her eyes flick to mine—“I still need it. What if people find out I had something to do with this?”
“None of our names are tied to what happened,” Naya says quickly, defensively. “I was livestreaming because I was attending. That’s all.”
“My name is tied to it all,” I admit. There’s no point denying it.
All eyes find mine, some faster than others.
I shrug, my voice low. “I wanted to be remembered, not erased, so I can’t complain. At Havenport, we all learned to survive by disappearing in plain sight. That’s what Ralston wanted. It’s what she built her empire on—women feeling invisible. She thrived off a system that wore us down, reminded us who held the power. She decided who was protected and who was silenced. Until we changed the rules. For that to happen, someone had to step into the light.” I swallow, her words about self-importance echoing in my mind. I hate that she can still get to me.
Did we win? Or is this the part where power reshapes itself into something familiar wearing a different face?
The truth is, even in the celebration, there’s an emptiness. A dread. A feeling that something worse might come next.
Or that Ralston might still find a way to win.
“This fight isn’t over,” Hayden says, as if she’s read my mind. “But I’m not going anywhere.” She lowers her head, finding my eyes, and I press my lips together with a firm nod.
“Me either,” Jade says.
“Same,” I agree.
“I’m with you, girls,” Professor Bell says, though she looks just as wary as before.
All eyes fall to Naya, who sighs. “Fine.”
A smile crawls across my lips. Even if Ralston stole so much from us, I guess she gave us something, too.
A reason to fight.
